Shaft-coupling



W. E. SCHWARZIVIANN AND F. D. NORA/IAN.

SHAFT COUPLING. APPLICATION FILEDIIAN. Z, 1918.

Patented May AsTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

WOLFGANG E. soIIWARzMANN AND FREDERICK DRAKE NORMAN, OE SPRINGFIELD,MASSACHUSETTS, AssIGNORs, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,` To AMERICAN BOSCHMAGNETO CORPORATION, OE NEW YORK, N.Y., A CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

SHAFT-COUPLING.

ject of the King. of Great Britain, residingv at Long Meadow,Springield, Hampden'.

county, State of VlVlassachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprove ments in Shaft-Couplings; and we do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill .enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make.and use the same. j

The present invention relates to shaft couplings having coaxial drivingand driven Imembers which may be engaged with each other and disengagedfrom each other with- I p v thrown out from engaged position by cenoutaxial movement of either member on its shaft, and it relates morespecifically to a coupling of that kind particularly adapted forassociation with an @Inpulse starting mechanism intended to bedisconnected from the driving unit to r,\estress the impelling spring,and to be reconnected `thereto for repeating the impelling movement ofthe driven unit, while maintaining the driving unit in fixed angularposition.

As disclosed in the application of M. Tost filed concurrently herewith,an internal combustion engine may drive the .magneto associated with itfor ignition purposes through impulse starting mechanism to giveimpelling movements to the magneto for firing the cylinder of the enginewhile the engine is rotating slowly in starting, or is at rest;

and a releasable coupling may be connected between the engine and theimpulse starting mechanism to permit the returning of the magneto to itsangular position for maXin mum generation during the subsequentimpelling movement, and also to permit the restressing of the springwhile the engine is 4maintained in its firing position, for repeatedgeneration of an ignition Spark in case the previous spark failed tostart the engine into operation under its own power.

Our invention comprehends a coupling useful for this specificorganization','and also useful in shaft driving mechanism in general,wherein it is desirable at times to release the coupling members for anypur.-

Specification of Letters Patent.

.ders would be changed.

pose whatsoever. One of the coupling members carries a connectingvdevice movable from a disengaged position permitting relative angulardisplacement of the coupling members to an. engaged position with theother member so as to then hold the two Inembersin substantially fixedangular position.

In the preferred embodiment of the coupling hereinafter described, onemember thereof vcarries a diametrical arm, whereas the other 'membercarries two diametrically disposed pivoted latches adapted to swing fromdisengaged positions `to positions embracing the outer ends of the arm.A Hat spring tends to hold the pivoted latches in either the disengagedor the engaged position, and prevents the latches from being trifirgalforce acting on them during the normal operation of the magneto. Also,the diametrical arm comprisesva magazine of flat springs permitting asmall degree of disalinement of the shafts on which the coupling membersare mounted, and also permitting casier engagement and disengagement ofthe latches, when the shafts are disalined.

In the-case of the engine organization hereinbefore referred to, themagneto once set relatively vto the engine, should not be recoupled 180Ofrom that setting, because the predetermined order of firing the cylin-Thus, when the coupling members are released to restress ythe impellingspring, they should be restored to their predeterminedrelation. Itsometimes happens, however, that upon restressing the impelling spring,the coupling member being turned is inadvertently released before it isreconnected to the other coupling member. The magneto is then impelledfreely and might be recoupled to the engine in an altered relation. Inorder to eliminate this contingency we provide means limiting therelative angular displacement of the coupling members when they aredisengaged from each other.

In the preferred embodiment hereinafter described` the limiting means isconstituted by one or more abutments carried by the latches andco-acting with the diametrical y Patented May 4, 1920.

Application filed January 2, 1918, Serial No. 210,064.

wise direction, and sometimes in anti-clockwise direction, the abutmentsare removable' from their supports and have alternative position ofconnection therewith, one position permitting angular displacement' ofthe coupling members for one direction of rotation, and the otherposition permitting angular displacement for the oppositevdirection ofdisplacement.

In the accompanyingT drawing. illustrating the preferred embodiment ofthe coupling hereinbefore referred to, Figure 1 is a side elevation;Fig. 2 is a front elevation; Fig. 3 is a section on. line 33 of Fig. 2;Figs. 4 and 5 are sections on lines`4-4 and 5-5 respectively, of Fig. 3;Fig. 6 is a front elevation of one coupling member with its latches inradial-or disengaged positions; and Fig. 7 is an elevation, on a reducedscale, of the operators tool.

The. axially alined shafts 1 and 2 may be the driving -and driven shaftsof the coupling, connected respectively to a driving unit such as aninternal combustion engine, and to afdriven unit Asuch as an impulsestarting mechanism which in turn has its drivenmember connected to amagneto associated with the engine for ignition pu`rposes. In such .anarrangement 3 is the 'driving member of the coupling and 4 is the drivenmember.

The coupling member 3 comprises a metal block 5 having acentral openingfor the reception of the end of the. shaft 1,. and also having sidefianges 6 forming a slot for the reception of the centralpart of thediametrical arm 7. The block 5 is held rigidly in set position on theshaft 1 by a Wedge pin 8 drawn up tightly by the nut 9 and The dia Thecoupling member 4 has a disk13 with a hub 14 extending beyond bothfaces, and

is fastened to a part 15 by bolts 1.6. The

part 15 has a median web 17 with a central opening at 18 and an arcuateslot at 19.

The web has an annular fiange .20 on 'its' 'inner face and a fiange`21on its outer face forming an annular V-sha`ped groove 22 with the outerrim 23. The bolts 16 have arcuate heads 24 V-shaped in end view. Thebolts are inserted one at a time through the slot 19, and when theirshanks 25 A.ex.

tend through the holes of disk 13, lthe part 15 may be adjudged inangular position relatively to the disk. 'The nuts 26'are then screwedup tightly and locked by thesplit washers 27, the heads of the boltsbeing seeurely seated in the groove 22. The rim 23 is cut out atdiametrical opposite places at 28 for the reception of the latches. 29which, arel journaled loosely on pivot pins 30. These latches have jaws31 adapted, when turned to lnormal positions, -to 4closely embrace theouter ends of the arm 7, and have fiber inserts 32 to take the Wearresulting fromvfriction. rl`he flat spring 33 is screwed to the flange20 and has arms extending underneath the latches, the arrangement beingsuch lthat the springs tend to hold the individual latches .indisengaged position radially of the axis of-rotation, and also inengaged position substantiallyv parallel tov the axis of rotation.

' Each of the latches has two screw thread ed holes 34 and 34 adaptedfor engagement with the stud 35. holes 34, and the latches in'disengaged po- Vith the studs in the,

sitions, the coupling member 4 is prevented end of the' shaft 2, and theend of the shaft` is threaded to receive a nut 38 and split washer 39for rigidly securing themember against angular and axial movementthereon. The part 15 is then fastened to the disk lun by the bolts 16 inangular position predep termined as desired.- v

v.In case the driven unit is a magneto and the drivenmember of thecoupling is the member 4, the magneto is brought'to its position formaximum generation, that is to the position at which the mechanicalinterrupter starts to open. With the shaft 2 held in this position, theshaft 1 which may be a driving shaft connectedto an internal combustionengine is turned to substantially its firing position With Athe pistonof the proper cylinder at 4or near the Very top of its stroke. Thecouplingmember 3 is then turned on the shaft to its position ofconnection with the coupling member 4, andv the latches 29 are thenturned ldown to embrace the outer ends of the arm 7. AA flat.

surfaceis then filed on the shaft 1 and the Wedge pin 8 is inserted inplace and drawn up tightly by the nut 9 to rigidly hold the` ,Y

the( shafts 1 and '2, and while filling the space between the jaws 31 ofthe latches, they permit the latches to be more easily .engaged anddisengaged, particularly on aocount of the convexity of the bearingsurface of the central bearingplates 11.

In case the coupling member 4 is on the shaft of an impulse startingmechanism, and the magneto is to be turned against the nor mal directionof rotation to reach its angular position for maximum generation in thenext impelling movement, the studs 35 are mounted in the holes indicatedin Fig. 6 for rotation of the driving shaft 1 in clockwise direction'asviewed from the right in Figs. 1, 3 and 5; but if the shaft 1 rotates inanti-clockwise direction, the studs are screwed into the other holes 34of the two latches29. A

To assist the operator in releasing the latches from engaging positionswith arm 7, the tool 40 has its end 41, shaped for that purpose. Itsother end has two prongs 42 adapted to t in two of the four holes 43 ofthe coupling member 4 to give the operator an increased leverage inturning that member against resistance, as for instance, against thestress of the impelling spring of an impulse starting mechanism.

I-Iaving thus described our invention, what we claim is as follows:

1. Means for releasably securing two coaxial shafts in a predeterminedangularrelation, comprising a member fastened on one shaft in angularlyadjusted position, a member fastened onthe other shaft, an arm fixed toone member, and a pivoted latch carried by the other memberandcoperative with the arm in but a single position so as to lock themembers from displacement with the shafts in the predetermined angularrelation.

2. In a releasable shaft coupling, coaxial driving and driven members, aresilient arm carried by one member, and a latch pivotally connected tothe other member and movable from one position embracing the outer endof the arm to another position out of engagement therewith.

3. In a releasable shaft coupling, coaxial i driving anddriven members,a resilient arm carried by one member, a latch pivotally connected tothe. other member and movable from a radial position out of engagementdisposed resilient armv carried by one member, and diametricallydisposed latches carried by the other member and movable from disengagedpositions to engaged positions embracing the outer ends of the arm.

6. In a releasable shaft coupling, coaxial driving-and driven members, adiametrically disposed resilient arm carried by one member,diametrically disposed latches carried by the other member and movablefrom disengaged positions to engaged positions embracing the outer endsof the arm, and `a spring tending to hold the latches in either of thesetwo positions.

' 7. AIn a releasable shaft coupling, coaxial driving and drivenmembers, a radially-disposed magazine of flat springs carried by onemember, and a latch carried by the other member and movable fromdisengaged posi- 'tionto engaged vposition embracing the outer end ofthe magazine.

callyvdisposed magazine of Hat springs carried by one member, anddiametrically disposed latches carried by the other member and movablefrom their disengaged positions to engaged positions embracing the outerends of the springs.

9. Means for releasably securing two coaxial shafts in arpredeterminedangular relation, comprising a member fastened on one shaft inangularly-adjusted position, sa member fastened on the other shaft, anddisengageable connecting means carried by the respective members andengageable in but onev angular relation thereof to lock the members fromdisplacement with the shafts in the predetermined angular relation.

10. In a releasable shaft coupling, coaxial driving and driven members,disengageable connecting means for the members, and means limiting therelative angular displacements of the members when they are vdisengagedby the connecting means.

11. Means for releasably securing two lcoaxial members in apredetermined angular relation, comprising an arm fast intermediate ofits ends to one member and having terminal engaging portions, a pivotedlatch carried by the other member in position to engage thevterminalportions of the arm, and means restricting the relative move ment of themembers, when released, to less than the angular displacement of saidtei minal engaging portions. whereby the latch :an be engaged with thepredetermined one of the terminal portions but not with the other.

12. In a releasable shaft coupling, coaxial driving and driven members,a pivoted device carried by one member for engagement with the othermember to hold the two members in substai'itially fixed relative angularposition, and an abutment carried by the pivoted member in position tolimit the re1- ative angular displacement of the members when theyv aredisengaged.

13. In a releasable shaft coupling, coaxial` driving` 1 and drivenmembers, a diametrically diametrically disposed latches carried by theother member and movable from disengaged positions to engaged positionsembracing the outer ends of the arm, and abutments carried bythelatclies to prevent relative angular displacement of the membersin'one direction and to limit the relative' angular displacement of themembers in the other direction. c

, l 14. In a releasable shaft coupling, coaxial driving and drivenlmembers an arm carsposed arm carried by one member,

oted devices providing two mountings for bersiin the other directioneach of saidipiv the abutment to provide for the limited angulardisplacement in the direction desired.

'15.. In a releasable shaft coup ling,"coaxial driving and drivenmembers', :afdiametrif callydisposed arm carried .b'yone member,

diametrically-disposed pivote'djlatches carried by ythe other memberarid'movable from disengaged positions toengaged positions embracing theouter ends of the arms, each -of said latches having two circumferentialdisplaced screw threaded holes, and two .studs adapted to be mounted invtwo of the holes of the twolatches lfor permitting lim- 'ited angulardisplacement rvoi' the members in one direction, and adapted to bemounted in the two other holes of the two latches forpermitting'angular-displacement of the two members in the oppositedirection.

lIn testimony whereof we affix our signatures.

WLEGANG E. SCEWARZMANN. FREDERICK EEAKE NORMAN.

